"About 12 months ago, this whole area was a parking lot," Luke Buttenwieser of Stamford's Transportation, Traffic & Parking Department said at the July 30 ribbon cutting, as reported by Stamford Patch. "Now we're at a 9,500 square foot public plaza here for people to enjoy themselves."
A week earlier and a short walk up the street, the Avon Theatre broke ground on a rebuild that keeps its doors closed until fall 2027. Both happened in one July, so the corner at Bedford and Forest starts its first fall with a new public space and without the marquee that has drawn people up this end of Bedford Street for 87 years. For the next twelve months the plaza and Latham Park carry the block. The year's biggest event on the street, the December holiday tree lighting, ends in Latham Park, right across the new crosswalk.
What the city built at Bedford and Forest
The plaza replaces a small city lot that had been used as temporary outdoor dining for five years. The city says the plan grew out of a crosswalk problem as much as a dining one. The crossing at Forest Street and Prospect Street has one of the highest pedestrian crash rates in Stamford, according to the city's project page, and fixing it is listed as the project's main goal.
The finished project includes:
- A 9,500-square-foot plaza with green space, public seating and space for restaurant outdoor dining
- 19 new trees planted with silva cell systems, which the city picked for long-term tree health
- A 50-foot-wide raised crosswalk across Forest Street that ties the plaza to Latham Park "forming one cohesive public space"
- Raised crosswalks across Bedford Street at Spring Street and at Forest Street, built for ADA access and to slow cars down
- New traffic signals at Bedford and Spring and at Bedford and Forest
The project cost $3 million. A $2 million state grant covered most of it and the city put in $1 million. At the ribbon cutting, Mayor Caroline Simmons called it a community gathering space.
The raised crosswalk matters most for the months ahead. Latham Park used to sit across a busy intersection from everything else. Now it reads as the far half of one space, with the plaza's trees and seating on the near side. The city's July 2024 public presentation summed up the idea as moving outdoor dining "from temporary to permanent."
The marquee up the block is dark until 2027
The Avon Theatre Film Center sits at 272 Bedford Street. Mayor Simmons called it "part of the heart and soul of our downtown," the Greenwich Free Press reported. Its "Avon reCreated" project broke ground in late July 2026. Executive Director Peter H. Gistelinck held a "Take 1!" clapperboard at the ceremony, with Mayor Simmons and project partners beside him.
The project is big enough to keep the building closed for more than a year:
- Westfair reported on October 1, 2026 a budget of about $18 million, with more than $15.8 million already raised from philanthropic gifts, government support, historic tax credits and community investment. The Greenwich Sentinel put the figure at $19 million.
- Public money includes $500,000 in the city budget, according to the Greenwich Free Press. The Greenwich Sentinel adds a $500,000 Good to Great grant, awarded in 2023 and administered by Connecticut DECD and Connecticut Humanities.
- The rebuilt theater will have three cinemas, adding a 39-seat screening room to the existing 271-seat and 242-seat auditoriums. Plans also include stadium-style seating, 4K laser projection, Dolby Atmos in the main theater, an Education Center, a café and wine bar, ADA upgrades, and a larger lobby and gathering space.
The Avon's own release targets substantial completion in September 2027 and a public reopening in late October 2027. That reopening will add a café and wine bar to the same stretch of Bedford Street that the new plaza now serves.
Where the Avon is screening this month
The theater is closed, but its programs continue. Avon on Tour is running screenings at partner sites, including the Ferguson Library, the Bruce Museum, Darien Library, Mill River Park and Stamford Town Center. As of today, the Avon's schedule lists four October dates:
- October 16: Life Is Beautiful
- October 19: Practical Magic
- October 23: Moonstruck
- October 25: Bicycle Thieves
The October 16 screening takes place at the Ferguson Library, 1 Public Library Plaza. Hey Stamford lists it as a free Italian Film Festival viewing from 6:30 to 9 p.m., sponsored by the Avon. It lands in the month Hey Stamford is promoting Italian American Heritage Month events around the city, from food and film to music, history and family programs. Hey Stamford also lists a free three-day showcase of emerging artists at Emerson Hall starting October 16. Ten Greater Stamford artists were picked from 29 applications. Check venues and times on each Avon on Tour listing, because the screenings move from site to site.
Eating on Bedford Street as the outdoor season closes
Restaurants are still opening on Bedford Street. Uncorked opened July 23 at 167 Bedford Street, in the former Bari167 space, according to Stamford Patch. Chef and owner Nick Martschenko opened it with local business owner Ellie Zieminski, who had asked him years earlier to bring the concept to Stamford. The menu pulls from his other restaurants, with pasta, bread, ketchup and mayonnaise made in-house. Martschenko told Patch he sees it as a casual neighborhood spot. Patch counted about 80 seats indoors and out in the weeks after it opened. Closer to Broad Street, Hudson Social at 128 Bedford Street is a New American restaurant and bar, and its site lists current hours and events.
On the city's calendar, outdoor dining winds down over the next seven weeks. Stamford splits outdoor dining into two permit types, each with its own season:
- Sidewalk cafés, for seating on sidewalks only, are permitted March 15 through November 30.
- Streateries, for seating in roads, parking spaces and parking lots, are permitted April 1 through November 1.
On the city's outdoor dining page, permit fees run from $300 a year for 20 seats or fewer up to $1,800 for more than 45 seats. Any setup that uses a metered parking space pays the top rate whatever its seat count. The city hasn't said publicly how restaurant seating in the new plaza fits these two categories, or whether it stays out past November. The plaza's public seating and trees, on the other hand, are permanent.
The first Heights & Lights with a plaza at the finish
On December 6, 2026, Stamford Downtown's Heights & Lights begins 22 stories up. Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Grinch and friends rappel down Landmark Square, and fireworks follow. After that, Stamford Downtown says, "Santa and friends will march up Bedford Street to Latham Park for holiday music and the lighting of Stamford's Holiday Tree."
That route crosses the new raised crosswalks at Spring and Forest and finishes in a park that now opens onto a 9,500-square-foot plaza. In past years, the crowd at the end of the march had to share an intersection the city counts among its worst for pedestrian crashes. This year it gathers in the space the city built to fix that crossing. Stamford Downtown says the best place to park for the event is Stamford Town Center, and notes that more details are still to come.
Before that, the holiday season starts a few blocks away. Stamford Downtown lists the Giant Balloon Inflation Party for Saturday, November 21, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Hoyt Street and Summer Street, and the Parade Spectacular for November 22 from noon to 2 p.m.
What the plaza may lead to
The plaza covers one corner, and the city is studying the rest of the street. The Reimagine Bedford Street effort, led by the city's transportation department and Stamford Downtown, looks at the block from Broad Street to Forest Street and seeks public-space design ideas, including permanent outdoor dining. The project page lists $50,000 in city funds and $25,000 from Stamford Downtown. Public outreach was set for June and July 2025, with a public workshop presentation dated October 16, 2025. The page doesn't say when construction might start.
That leaves a clear timeline for the north end of Bedford Street. The plaza and Latham Park are open now. Streatery permits end November 1 and sidewalk café permits end November 30. On December 6 the tree lighting is in Latham Park, just across the new crosswalk from the plaza. The Avon is scheduled to reopen with its third screen and a café and wine bar in late October 2027.
If you live near Bedford Street or are thinking about a home within walking distance of it, the Zerella | Christy Team follows these projects block by block. Schedule a free market strategy call with Kenny or Brian to talk about what they mean for your plans.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
